With prices rising and Montgomery County’s unemployment rate at 3.5% at the end of 2025, the latest federal rule change for residents on SNAP is just one more barrier for those in need.
As of March 1, SNAP recipients must work 80 hours a month or they will lose their benefits.
The problem, according to Manna CEO Craig Rice, is that many people who use the program to supplement their grocery purchases don’t know about the work rule exemptions and assume they have been kicked out of the program.
Manna makes it its mission to eliminate hunger through food distribution, education and advocacy.
Rice said he recently spoke with a woman who doesn’t work because she needs to be home with her child who is disabled. That is one of the exemptions, but “she didn’t even know that,” Rice said.
Under the federal new rules, SNAP recipients must be between 18 and 64 years of age. They may be exempt if they are unable to work due to a physical limitation, are pregnant, have someone under 18 in the household, a veteran or are homeless.
The age limit jumped from 54 to 64, which means any adult between the ages off 55 and 64 may now need to be employed for 80 hours a month.
Calls to Manna seeking food and answers to questions have increased by 10% recently, Rice said. He noted that the 10% is “on top of” the increase in calls the food center received during the federal workforce layoffs and increase in food prices.
In August of 2025, Manna received 6,600 calls. That number increased by 34% to about 10,000 calls each month, according to Rice.
Some of these recipients have not been able to find work or can’t work for a variety of reasons, Rice said. “The challenge,” said Rice, is to let them know what they are qualified for.
“At the same time, we have folks in our county who are suffering,” Rice said. He noted that many of them have jobs.
Rice considers it a core part of his job “to make sure everyone knows there are people in need in Montgomery County.”
In 2025, Manna had 56,189 participants and distributed 3.14 pounds of food.
The Capital Area Food Bank estimated that 34% of adults in Montgomery County were food insecure in 2024, up from 27% in 2023,
